Get Inspired: 27 Stunning Rectangular Pool Designs

What Shape is Your Swimming Pool?

A Mid-century modern with rectangular pool and spa. Trinette Reed/Getty Images

When it comes to pool design and choosing a shape, sometimes simple is the best solution. A rectangular, rectilinear, or geometric-shaped pool will be easier to build, give you maximum room for swimming--especially laps--and complements most architectural styles of homes.

The available outdoor space you have to work is a major determining factor in deciding on a pool shape. So is location--think about the placement of the pool and if it will be easily accessible via the house. Other considerations involving planning and logistics:

Will it be located near your neighbor's wall? If so, do you need to create privacy?

Will large construction equipment be able to access the space without tearing down walls (including your neighbor's)?

Is there a power line overhead? While it can be moved, this will add to the cost of your project.

Most cities have safety codes. Your pool builder should check and be up on this, as codes can affect the size and shape of a pool.

Materials: some types of stone and tile work better applied to geometric forms rather than freeform or curving.

Ideally, a pool should have a southwest exposure to allow the maximum amount of sunlight. Think about this when choosing a location.

Why Simple Shapes Work

While a smaller version of the local water theme park may be on the drawing board, simpler pool shapes will blend better with a landscape and boost the appeal of your home. Simple geometrics and rectangles can enhance your property's landscaping.

Plan the pool size and shape with your contractor before digging further into a project. In the following examples discover just how versatile something as basic as a rectangle can be. Many of the pool featured are award winners, including the Association of Pool and Spa Professionals (APSP) annual Awards of Excellence.

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Rectangular Shaped Pools

Rectangular-shaped pool at night. Astronaut Images/Getty Images

A still pool at night that is as beautiful to look at as it is to actually swim in. As a source of exercise, the long, straight lines of a rectilinear pool make sense for pool owners who want to swim laps. Traditionally, reflection pools are rectilinear in shape.

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The First Pools in Southern California

Actress Colleen Moore with her backyard pool, ca 1932. Getty Images

Not counting the ancient pools of a few select kings and rulers in places like Babylon and Rome, the history of residential swimming pools pretty much began in Southern California. Starting in the mid-1930s, newsreels and magazine photos of movie stars posing by their swimming pools sparked a trend, which became more popular during the post-World War II housing boom. By 1947, there were 11,000 pools in the United States.

The first private backyard swimming pools were rectangular in shape and did not have elaborate wood or flagstone decking or built-in water features. Silent film star Colleen Moore, who posed languidly on her carpeted diving board as she teasingly dipped a finger into her pool, was the quintessential flapper and style icon of the 1920s. Here, she represents everything then-glamorous about the Hollywood lifestyle.

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Geometric Beauty

Swimming pools come in all shapes, sizes, styles and designs. Some are used for specific purposes: lap pools for health and fitness, infinity pools to make a landscape architectural statement or take advantage of a breathtaking view, novelty pools to express the owner's personality or interests, and naturalistic pools that blend in with the landscape.

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Pool with Pergolas

Materials were matched for all components of this project, which includes a pool, spa, decking, coping, and pergola. Other outdoor features include a fully equipped kitchen, custom fire pit, tennis court, basketball court, large patio, and a cabana.

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Infinity Pool Overlooking Parklike Setting

This infinity pool looks like a smooth sheet of glass. The design firm likes to use a technique called "Water in Transit" for infinity overflow pools that are complemented with mood-enhancing features like landscape lighting and fire features.

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Pool in Big Backyard

This sprawling, terraced yard in Pennsylvania features a classic rectangular-shaped pool that was built with a raised foundation to make it level with the terrace upon which it was constructed. Beautiful local stone that is stacked gives it an old world look, and the materials are repeated on the steps that flank both sides of the pool and the adjacent spa. A waterfall spills from the main pool into the spa for a dramatic effect.

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Iconic Stahl House in LA

The iconic Stahl House and pool in LA. Amelia Pergl/Flickr

This iconic house perched on a hilltop overlooking Los Angeles is probably one of the most famous examples of mid-century modern residential architecture. Designed by Pierre Koenig, the Stahl House was part of Arts & Architecture magazine's Case Study program which featured notable architects who designed homes using modern industrial materials in the postwar era. Built in 1960, Case Study House 22 used large pieces of glass and dramatic roof overhangs for this modern masterpiece.

Photographer Julius Shulman's images--particularly one of two women lounging in the corner window with the LA lights down below—showed the world the design promise and potential of the Stahl and other modern homes of the era. In 2016, the image was named one of Time magazine's "100 Photos: The Most Influential Images of All Time."

The rectangular pool complements rather than competes with the home and further emphasizes the beauty of the Southern California lifestyle.

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Quiet Little Hideaway

This pool area gets a designated spot in an area away from the house, against a shrub and tree-lined wall and adjacent to a similarly rectangular swath of green lawn. Although not a large space, the mature plants provide a relaxing, private getaway.

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Ocean-View Infinity

Palm tree in infinity pool. Robert Daly/Getty Images

Rectangles are perfect shapes for infinity style pool designs, because they blend with the line of the horizon and take advantage of a view—especially something spectacular like an ocean.

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Rectangle with Squares

A traditional rectangle shape transforms into something different with the addition of squares that cut into it: a connecting spa in the shape of a diamond, along with square pedestals on each corner of the pool. The pool is zero-entry, giving it the appearance of being seamless with the patio surface.

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Decked-Out in the Desert

Modern house with pool and wood deck. P. Eoche/Getty Images

A home with desert landscaping uses wood decking that stretches from the house to the pool for an uninterrupted flow. The simple rectangular pool is zero entry and is surrounded by warm colors and materials that reflect the environment.

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Mid-Century Modern Outdoor Living

Need inspiration for your pool and landscaping? Consider your decorating style, the home's architecture, environment, and natural landscape. Here, a fire pit seating area reflects the shape of the pool and house, while providing a nice view of everything, including the surrounding landscape.

The mid-century modern architectural style typically has floor-to-ceiling glass windows, are one level, and blend the indoors and outdoors. A rectangle echoes the clean, simple lines of the house and surrounding patio. ​

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Stone House and Patio

Designed by a Dallas area full-service pool and landscaping firm, this pool shows that a rectangular shape fits nicely on a smaller-sized lot. While the pool is made of concrete, the stone used for the decking and surrounding patio match the house, tying together all elements.

Zero-Entry in Georgia

This pool environment is located on a sprawling property near Atlanta. Rectangles are perfect for vanishing-edge pools and this one features a large spa that repeats the shape of the pool and is on a slightly higher level, accessible via steps on both sides. Fountains and waterfalls give the pool/spa a dramatic presentation on the edge that drops off from spa to pool, and from pool to the vanishing edge. Materials are used throughout the yard, including the covered outdoor kitchen and patio area for a sense of continuity.

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Pool with Fountains

A traditional rectangle shape is right at home in this formal outdoor environment that uses cut stone placed into diagonally-placed square pavers, evenly spaced and interplanted with grass. Adding to that formality, the pool is surrounded by more stone and pillars that hold fountains that spill into the pool, creating a beautiful focal point for the well-appointed backyard.

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Palm Springs Pool

A modern house in the desert with a concrete pool surround. Paul Bradbury/Getty Images

Location: Palm Springs, California

A sleek, mid-century modern house in the desert has a long, cool pool to echo the lines of the home's roof and covered patio.

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French Piscene

This pool with surrounding wooden deck is made by the French pool-building firm Diffauzer Piscenes and is made of watertight reinforced concrete. Most of the company's pools are constructed of concrete and are available in a variety of coatings.

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Pool on the Florida Coast

Rectangular, L-shaped pool. APSP

Designer: AAA Custom Pools

Location: Jupiter, Florida

A zero-entry rectangular pool with connecting spa blends seamlessly with the tile pavers, making the backyard all about the view of the adjacent lawn and boat launch.

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Desert Lap Pool

A lap pool with desert landscaping. George Gutenberg/Getty Images

One of the best pool shapes for modern or contemporary style architecture is geometric or rectangular. This house in the desert is geometric, so the lap pool continues the form outdoors. Even the succulents and cacti are considered architectural or geometric in shape, as opposed to something like a fern, which is more detailed and delicate.​

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A Yard for Entertaining

From Aqua Technics' Caprice line, this rectangular pool measures 26 x 10 feet and features an azure blue finish. The outdoor entertaining area, kitchen, and lounge was built at the same time as the pool and spa and features wood ceilings that match the pool and spa decking.

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Stone and Mosaic Pool

This San Antonio, Texas-area pool environment packs a lot into a small amount of space, offering its owners privacy while still offering views. Materials were chosen to reflect the natural environment and are rich, deep brown stones and mosaic tiles that complement one another.

Coastal Texas Beauty

Built about 10 feet from a ship channel on the Texas coast, this pool and spa blends with the coastal architecture. Materials used include travertine decking, glass tile in the pool and spa, exposed aggregate interior finish, and fire bowls on the zero edge. The environment comes alive at night with LED lighting.

Modern Geometric Pool

A courtyard pool and adjacent spa is the focal point of the yard and can be accessed from several rooms that surround the flagstone patio.

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Paradise in Indonesia

Long, rectangular pool in Indonesia. Selamat Made/Flickr

A long, narrow, rectangular pool blends with the landscape on the Indonesian island of Bali. Jeda Villa is one of several for rent in the town of Pemurteran, which is located on the northwest corner of the island.

The pool is situated on a raised wood deck with lounge chairs and surrounded by native trees, solar panels, and a breathtaking view of the nearby mountains.